About this project

$5,120

pledged of $5,000 goal

74

backers

Our mission is to demonstrate the creative possibility of urban agriculture by promoting local gardening, healthy eating, and sustainability.The Green Urban Lunch Box visits local
schools, farmers markets, outdoor concerts, festivals, and wherever groups of
people, especially children, gather. Our intent is to create a fun, hands-on
approach to gardening. When we visit schools, we teach 1st-3rd graders about
plants, backyard gardens, and the importance of eating fruits and vegetables.
We provide garden access to students who might not otherwise have the
opportunity to learn and experience what it is like to grow vegetables. We help
kids and parents see that they can garden anywhere and open their eyes to the
possibilities and joy of growing their own food. We give each child who comes
in to the bus seeds and other gardening tools. The participants must promise to
grow at least one plant that they can eat at home. In 2011, The Green Urban
Lunch Box had over 1,000 visitors, about 75% of whom were children. In the
fall of 2012 we are aiming to visit all of the 25 schools in the Salt Lake City
school district helping us educate over 3,000 kids.

In addition to The Green Urban Lunch
Box, we have started a program that links elderly people and people with
disabilities with volunteers in their neighborhood to share a community garden,
called a back-farm. Under the direction of our staff, local volunteers will
help convert the participant's backyard into a garden in exchange for a share
of the produce. Approximately 1/3 of the produce will go to the participant,
1/3 to the volunteer, 1/3 to The Green Urban Lunch Box. The share that goes to
The Green Urban Lunch Box will be sold at local farmers' markets in order to
offset the costs of converting even more backyards into community
gardens.

While this bus is a creative teaching tool, there is still work to be done. We want the bus to help people learn about all sorts of different forms of creative agriculture. To do this we will need to make some improvements to the bus. We need to install steps so people can exit the back of the bus, helping us get more people in and out of the bus safely. We want to add a gravity feed watering system to the top of the bus. Our aquaponics system (a symbiotic cultivation of plants and aquatic animals in a recirculating environment) needs some tweaking so that it functions more smoothly. This requires the addition of edible fish and a heater to keep the water flowing in the winter. Better insulation and a solar powered heating system would allow us to grow salad greens year-round. The addition of this heating system would allow us to visit schools year-round, thus reaching more students and members of the community. Other additions will include a small roof top garden, a vertical garden in the bus, and a coffee ground mushroom bed. Lastly, we plan to install interpretive signage throughout the bus, so that it becomes an even more effective educational tool.

We plan to visit over 3,000 school children this year and we want each of them to plant and grow one vegetable plant. This means that 3,000 families will be growing some of their own food. As a result, there will be 3,000 new plants in Salt Lake City. To do this we need to buy supplies like dirt, seeds, and pots. In addition to all this, the bus is in need of a new paint job thanks to some local graffiti artists.

This is where we need your help. This is a labor of loved funded last year by our founder, Shawn Peterson. Last year over 1,500 volunteer hours were donated by friends and community members. Currently, Shawn is a 30 hour a week volunteer on this project and most of the funding for the project so far has come out of his pockets.

If we raise at least $5,000 dollars with this campaign, we will be able to do the following: Purchase the need supplies for our school visits, add solar power to the bus so we can heat it year-round, add the gravity feed watering system, install the stairs, and repaint the bus. If we raise $6,500 we will be able to finish the aquaponics system, start growing pink and blue oyster mushrooms, add a roof top garden, and vertical garden to the bus. For $7,500 we can complete all the tasks listed above, no matter what, any donations will be put to good use. Thank you for your help.

For
helping us out we have some cool stuff like shirts, hats, lunch boxes, and the
best prize of all, fresh veggies. Or if you are feeling
more altruistic send the bus to a school or have us convert a yard
for a senior citizen in your neighborhood. Check out the rewards on
the side.

FAQ

Have a question?
If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $10 or more
About $10

Thanks for helping us bring the bus to a school in the Salt Lake City area. Your contribution will fund up to ten kids learning about gardening and healthy eating. To say thanks, we will send you a handmade thank you letter that doubles as a garden starter seed pack.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $25 or more
About $25

A bag of fresh, no spray veggies from our garden. If you live in the Salt Lake City area, we will coordinate a place for pickup. If you don't live in the Salt Lake City Area, why not think about the $30 reward?

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $60 or more
About $60

Classroom visit. We will take The Green Urban Lunch Box to the class of your choice in the Salt Lake City School District. If you don't have a preference then we are happy to choose one for you. We will also throw in a hat as our way of saying thanks.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $75 or more
About $75

Veggie basket and your choice of a shirt, hat or lunch box. We will deliver a basket of locally-grown, no-spray veggies from our own garden to your house in the Salt Lake City area. If you live outside of the Salt Lake City area, we will get you a whole bunch of seed packets. We will also send you, your choice of a hat, t-shirt, or lunch box.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $200 or more
About $200

School visit. We will bring The Green Urban Lunch Box to one of the Salt Lake City Schools (Let us know if you have a preference for which school - Our lessons are geared towards 2nd and 3rd graders). We will provide lessons and garden supplies to six classes. Thanks for educating some kids. In addition you will be decked out in a Green Urban Lunch Box hat and shirt.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $300 or more
About $300

We will give you a basket of fresh veggies, a hat,a shirt. On top of all that, we will convert part of a Salt Lake City senior citizen's yard into a garden, providing them with fresh vegetables all summer long.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

We will convert 350 square feet of your yard in Salt Lake City area to an amazing vegetable garden. If you don't live in the Salt Lake City area, we will convert two senior citizen yards into vegetable gardens. For good measure we will throw in The Green Urban Lunch Box hat and shirt.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

All of the prizes mentioned above (hat, t-shirt, lunch box, garden starter kit, veggie bag or more seeds) and your name on The Green Urban Lunch Box. This Green House Bus is Powered By (Your Name Here)